COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER BROOKE PINTO
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 106
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004
September 18, 2023
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Smith,
Today, I, along with Councilmembers Robert White, Christina Henderson, Charles Allen, and
Vincent Gray am introducing the “Government Recruitment and Retention Act of 2023.” Please
find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation.
In recent years, a number of District agencies—and, notably, several of our agencies responsible
for public safety—have experienced long-term, heightened vacancies among mission-critical
positions. Those vacancies have had a direct impact those agencies’ ability to administer agency
programs, provide services to residents, and meet legislative mandates. For example, as of March
2023, . the Office of Unified Communications (“OUC”) reported 31.2% (29 of 93) of 911 call-
taker positions were vacant, as well as 15.6% (13 of 82) of 911 call dispatchers. In late summer,
OUC Director Heather McGaffin reported that OUC had some success bringing on new staff, but
20.7% of positions still remained vacant. The Director noted that about 40% of work shifts in
August were short-staffed due to these staffing issues. Short-staffing at OUC has a direct effect on
the agency’s ability to retain and recruit new staff, especially as existing staff face increased, long-
term overtime demands. What’s more, increased demands on staff may contribute to reported
dispatch errors and affect the agency’s ability to meet national standards for call answer and
dispatch times.
Similarly, in March, the District’s Department of Corrections (“DOC”) reported nearly 20% (172
of 866) of all correctional officer positions as vacant. Correctional officers are largely responsible
for day-to-day operations at the DC Jail, not only supervising residents but often directly
administering programs and other services to residents. As such, these vacancies have had a direct
effect on day-to-day DOC operations: due to staffing shortfalls, DOC has increased overtime and
expanded responsibilities for existing staff, increasing burn-out among our correctional officers;
without sufficient staff to administer programming, critical reentry and resident enrichment
programming has reduced or canceled, impacting the ability of residents to successfully transition
from the DC Jail at the end of their sentence; and, word of mouth about the heightened demands
on staff due to staffing issues has, per reports to the Committee, had a direct effect on interest in
applying for available correctional officer positions
As seen in just these two examples, long-term, heightened vacancies at District agencies can have
drastic effect on those agencies’ ability to execute on the agency’s mission, provide services, and,
most critically, safeguard the health and safety of our residents. It is critical that the District take 2
immediate action to develop and implement strategies to comprehensively address staffing
shortfalls across agencies. Of course, there is no panacea or simple solution to staffing shortfalls
as the needs of each agency and position are different. Thus, any solutions must be precisely
tailored to address the unique needs of that agency and the particular workforce and market being
targeted.
With those concerns in mind, the “Government Recruitment and Retention Act of 2023” aims to
address issues with hiring and recruitment across District agencies, with a particular focus on
vacancies among mission-critical positions in our public safety agencies. Specifically, the
legislation would:
• Establish a new Director of Recruitment and Retention within the Office of the City
Administrator, tasked with identifying mission-critical positions in District agencies that
are either difficult-to-fill or with high attrition rates, identify the factors causing those
positions to be difficult-to-fill or suffer from high attrition (both District-specific and
nation-wide factors), transmit an annual report to the Mayor and Council with specific
recommendations to address identified issues, and, on an ad hoc basis, directly assist
agencies in implementing those recommendations—both from the annual report and
otherwise—and other strategies to address hiring and retention issues.
• Authorize the Mayor, to directly aid agencies in hiring and retention for difficult-to-fill
positions, to issue employee retention payments and new hire recruitment incentives of
up to $5,000 for the following positions impacting public safety:
o Correctional officers within the Department of Corrections;
o Call takers and call dispatchers within the Office of Unified Communications;
o Staff within the Department of Behavioral Health Community Response Team;
o Staff within the Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Service;
o Social workers, case managers, social services assistants, and social services
representatives within the Department of Human Services;
o Medical examiners within the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner;
o Direct care positions within the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services; and
o Positions identified by the new Director of Recruitment and Retention that will
further our efforts to improve public safety.
• Require that the Mayor, on a quarterly basis, transmit a report to the Council on
vacancies among the difficult-to-fill positions listed above, including data on staff hired,
staff departed, the number and dollar value of recruitment incentives and retention
payments provided, and total spend on recruitment incentives and retention payments
year to date.
• Direct MPD to engage a contractor to develop and execute a campaign to encourage
District high-school age students to enroll in the cadet corps program.
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• Direct the Department of Corrections to engage a contractor to develop and execute a
campaign to encourage District high-school age students to pursue a career with the
Department of Corrections.
• Direct the Office of Unified Communications to engage a contractor to develop and
execute a campaign to encourage District high-school age students to pursue a career as
an OUC call taker or call dispatcher.
• Establish an internship program within the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to
encourage high-school age students to work at OCME, and in pursue a career as a
medical examiner.
Should you have any questions about this legislation, please contact my Committee Director,
Michael Porcello, at mporcello@dccouncil.gov.
Thank you,
Brooke Pinto
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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. Councilmember Brooke Pinto 2
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Councilmember Vincent C. Gray Councilmember Christina Henderson 6
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Councilmember Charles Allen 10
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A BILL 13
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 17
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To establish recruitment incentives and retention payments for certain difficult-to-fill positions, 20
to require that they Mayor transmit a quarterly report to the Council on hiring and 21
retention rates and the number and value incentive and retention payments provided, to 22
establish a new Director of Recruitment and Retention within the Office of the City 23
Administration, to authorize the Metropolitan Police Department to contract with an 24
entity to execute a campaign to encourage high-school age students to enroll in the cadet 25
corps program, to authorize the Department of Corrections to contract with an entity to 26
execute a campaign to encourage high school-age students to pursue a career as a 27
correctional officer, and to direct the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to stand up an 28
internship program for high school-age students. 29
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 30
act may be cited as the “Government Recruitment and Retention Act of 2023”. 31
Sec. 2. (a)(1) For new employees hired after January 1, 2024, to eligible positions, the 32
Mayor shall provide a recruitment incentive of up to $5,000. 33
(2) For existing employees in eligible positions, the Mayor may provide a 34
retention payment of up to $5,000. 35
(b) Each quarter, the Mayor shall transmit to the Council a report on recruitment and 36
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retention of difficult-to-fill positions. The report shall include, for the preceding quarter, for 37
eligible positions: 38
(1) Broken down by position type: 39
(A) The number of staff hired; 40
(B) The number of staff departing, including, where known, the reason for 41
the departure; 42
(C) The number and total dollar amount of recruitment incentives 43
provided; and 44
(D) The number and total dollar amount of retention payments provided; 45
and 46
(2) Total spend on recruitment incentives and retention payments, and remaining 47
available budget for recruitment incentives and retention payments. 48
(c) For the purposes of this section, “eligible positions” means: 49
(A) Correctional officers within the Department of Corrections; 50
(B) Call takers and call dispatchers within the Office of Unified 51
Communications; 52
(C) Staff within the Department of Behavioral Health Community 53
Response Team; 54
(D) Staff within the Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Service; 55
(E) Social workers, case managers, social services assistants, and social 56
services representatives within the Department of Human Services; 57
(F) Medical examiners within the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; 58
(G) Direct care positions within the Department of Youth Rehabilitation 59
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Services; and 60
(H) Positions identified by the Director of Recruitment and Retention 61
pursuant to section (b)(1) of this Act. 62
Sec. 3. (a) There is established, within the Office of the City Administrator, a Director of 63
Recruitment and Retention (“Director”). 64
(b) The Director shall: 65
(1) Identify mission-critical positions in District agencies that are difficult-to-fill 66
or have high attrition rates; 67
(2) Identify factors causing or contributing to these positions being difficult-to-fill 68
or suffering from high attrition, including issues of employee morale and enhanced mental health 69
support needs; 70
(3) On an annual basis, transmit a report to the Mayor and Council that includes 71
the following: 72
(A) A list of positions identified used paragraph (1) of this subsection, 73
including an explanation of data and standards used by the Director to identify these positions; 74
(B) A description of the factors, whether local or nationwide, causing or 75
contributing to these positions being difficult-to-fill or suffering from high attrition; 76
(C) Recommendations on incentives, interventions, and other changes to 77
agency law, policies, or practices to enhance recruitment and retention for those positions; and 78
(4) Work directly with agency leadership and staff to implement 79
recommendations proposed in the annual report required under paragraph (3) of this subsection, 80
or as otherwise necessary to address recruitment and retention issues within District agencies; 81
Sec. 4. For School Year 2024-2025 and subsequent school years: 82
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(1) The Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) shall engage a District-based entity to 83
develop and execute a campaign to encourage District high school-age students to enroll in 84
MPD’s cadet corps program; 85
(2) The Department of Corrections (“DOC”) shall engage a District-based entity to 86
develop and execute a campaign to encourage District high school-age students to pursue a 87
career as DOC correctional officers; and 88
(3) The Office of Unified Communications (“OUC”) shall engage a District-based entity 89
to develop and execute a campaign to encourage District high school-age students to pursue a 90
career as OUC call takers and call dispatchers; and 91
(4) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (“OCME”) shall stand up an internship 92
program to encourage high school-age students to pursue a career with OCME. 93
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. 94
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 95
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 96
October 16, 2006 (12 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 97
Sec. 6. Effective date 98
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 99
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 100
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 101
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 102
Columbia Register. 103